Congress rolls out populist pitch for polls, Marathi manoos in focus

Its ten-page manifesto sets out to address just about every challenge Mumbai faces, apart from appealing to all major communities

MUMBAI: The Congress and its allies have announced a long list of populist promises in their manifesto for the upcoming BMC elections, second only to the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance, which made a similar pitch a few days ago.

The Mumbai Vikas Aghadi officially released its manifesto on Tuesday (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

The Congress on Tuesday promised a universal free health card, two new multi-speciality public hospitals, scrapping the annual hike in water bills, reopening of closed municipal schools, free bus rides for students, making Mumbai pothole-free, large-scale parking facilities, real-time air quality monitoring, a special development policy for gaothans and koliwadas, among other things.

Its ten-page manifesto sets out to address just about every challenge Mumbai faces, apart from appealing to all major communities. Considering the ‘Marathi manoos’ one its significant poll planks, the manifesto said, “On BMC-owned land, dignified and affordable housing within the city will be ensured for Marathi residents and long-term settlers.”

The announcement comes only two days after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, while kicking off the BJP-Sena poll campaign for Mumbai, declared that they would ensure that no Mumbaikar would have to leave the city for want of bigger homes.

“By developing a second BKC from Parel to Matunga, it will be transformed into a major hub for international finance, banking, corporate headquarters and employment generation. Using higher FSI, the BMC will redevelop old markets and construct modern multi-storey complexes without handing them over to private developers,” states the manifesto.

The Congress also tried to maintain a caste balance by promising to allocate 5% of the total BMC’s budget for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. It further talked about new facilities at burial and cremation grounds; more anganwadis, ‘Hirkani Rooms’ (breastfeeding rooms) and day-care centres for working women in every civic ward.

The party also declared a name for its city-centric alliance for Mumbai’s municipal elections. It’s calling the alliance the ‘Mumbai Vikas Aghadi’, similar to the ‘Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA), its state-level alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP).

However, no leader from its major poll partner, the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) was present when the manifesto was released, putting a question mark on the future of the partnership. Instead, leaders from smaller allies – RPI (Gavai) and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) – shared the dais with senior Congress leaders.

The Congress is contesting 143 seats and VBA around 50 seats.

City Congress president Varsha Gaikwad said VBA leaders were busy with scheduled commitments. “I had taken permission from VBA president Prakash Ambedkar. The manifesto covers all the issues suggested by the party.”